Machine for the manufacture of shoes



June 10, 1952 w. P. FIELD MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES v 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed NOV. 9, 1949 WaZEeH y ai U flit-02 m June 10, 1952 w. P. FIELD 2,599,548

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed Nov. 9, 1949 Z5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .4 84a 54 14 8Q 86 a a a ,6

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, mun n lllluli will!!! all!!! s II\ x .00 TW QB mm mm um Patented June 10, 1952 STATES PATENT OFFICE MAQHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SHOES e Walter P. Field, Brockton, Mass. Application November 9, 194.9, SerialNo. 126496 5 Claims. (01. 12-51) This invention relatesto the manufacture of shoes and more particularly to a machine for the direct, progressive adhesive application of welting-tothe bottom of a lasted shoe upper.

I'nthe past, welting has been associated with shoe uppers in various] ways. Thus in the so called G'oodyear welt shoe the welt is secured to the rib, of a ribbed insole, by stitching in a socalled insearning operation and subsequently the outside is stitched to the welt. In another type of welted shoe such as illustrated in my Patent No. 2.35.73 3, thdwelt may'first be attached to thejmarginot the outsqleasby stitching, and the assembled welt and cuts'ole subsequently secured to the 'u ashy'means of adhesive.

I y o-pending'a'pplication serial No. 126,407 filed on eve date herewith I'have'. disclosed and claimed a's hoeflconfstruction and method of preparing such shoe involving the application of a welt to the marginof ashoe bottom by means of a high strength pressure sensitive adhesive such as nepprene'andthe subsequent attachment of an utsOle'tdthe welt. The present invention dire ed to a machine construction whereby a weltreadily may be directly progressively and adhesively appliedfto a shoe bottom with a uniform marginal extension of the welt beyond the P 1" object o; the invention is to provide a mach ne. wh y a w t ead a d rapi ay be adhesively applied to the margin of a shoe bottom. further object is to provide such a machinegwhereby the welt be located with a predetermined estension beyond the shoe margin regardlessof the particular'shape ofthe shoe een l Other obJ'QCts, Will be apparent to. those skilled in the art from the disclosures herein made and om h accompanying raw n w in Fi -lire, 1 is atojp P13 View of the machine showing a piece of welting in operative position;

2 is a S d l va i n DI t mach ne;

Fig. 3 is a front elevationof the machine;

is afragmentaryfvrtieal section showine Y a shoe upper. in cooperativ relation with welting ad with the machine during the application of a w l m t hoe; an a Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a modified 'form of machine" wherein positive d ving m ns s P 9rided" 9 he a e- I ave i lu t ed in he, drawin a preferred forni'bi machihe'arrang'ed for the adhesive apli cationof a welt to a slide; Convehie'rltly there may be employedw 111; w h i patented' per Se .1 mrra efiti N9- zliasast T g a n side of this preferred welting, before attachment to the shoe, is fiat, and theinner portion of the grain side is roughed for the more ready reception of adhesive. The flesh sideof the welt is provided with a longitudinal channel and on the inner side of the welt theflesh side tapers toward the grain side. The outer portion of th'ewelt is of substantially uniform thickness.

Inthe form of my machine which I have herein illustrated in'Figs'. 1 to 4 inclusive there is provided (see Fig. 4) 'a positively driven pressure roll mounted on a horizontal axis and an edge gauge or guide which is shown as rotatable. The driven pressure roll is provided with a circular flange; or what might also be termed an elevated welt guide, which flange is arranged to cooperate with the longitudinal channel in the uppersurface of the welt to guide the welt and to prevent lateral movement thereof. A recess in the upper portion of the edge gauge serves additionally to inhibit lateral movement of the welt toward the center of the edge gauge during its application to the welt of the shoe. In the application of the Welt to the. shoe the inner portion of the lower or grain side of the Welt has previously been coated with suitable. pressure ensitive adhesive and the marginal portion of the shoe bottom has likewise been coated with suitable pressure sensitiveadhesive. For the welt applying operation the lasted upper is held manually, and is pressed laterally against the edge guide and upwardly against the Welt and positively driven roll. The upward pressure against the positively driven roll serves to rotate the lasted upper for the marginal application of the welt thereto. more, serves to cause the pressure sensitive adhesive coated surfaces to adhere initially. Subsequently the welt and lasted upper may be placed under sole attaching pressure to provide an. adhesion betweenthewelt and lasted upper sufficient to hold the parts togetherduring the life of theshoe.

In Fig 5"there is illustrated a modified form of machine in which thepressure roll and the edge gaugeare both'driven p'osiuvdyanu in synchronism.

Reference will now be made to the details of construction in the'illustrativeembodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to l inclusive." Thus, there is mounted on the base 2 a motor 4 having a shaft 5. To the shaft 6 is keyed a Worm 8 arranged in driving relation to 3 fiarlfl. Also mounted on the base 2 is the. post l2 which carries the elements which cooperate with th Such upward pressure, further-V by turning the adjusting screw 60.

ing and shoe upper. Journalled in the upper and elongated portion I4 of the post I2 is the shaft l6 which rotates in the bearing l8. At the forward end of the machine, the shaft I carries the positively driven pressure roll which is shown as having an inner portion 22 of uniform diameter, a circumferential flange or elevated welt guide 24, an outwardly flaring portion 25, and an outer portion 28 of uniform section. The gear l0, previously mentioned, is keyed to the rearward end of the shaft 16 and additionally secured to the shaft 16 by the screw l3. When the motor is running, therefore, the pressure roll 20 is continuously rotated.

slidably movable in the slot is the gauge bracket 32 which is adjustable in a direction parallel to the shaft [5 and pressure roll 25. At its forward end, the adjustable bracket 32 is decreased in thickness but increased in width to form the forward section 34. This forward section 35 carries in freely rotatable fashion the rotary gauge 38, which is shown as mounted for rotation on a vertical stud 38 which is threaded at the screw portion 45 into the forward bracket section 34. A bushing 42 is shown as provided adjacent to the stud 38. The gauge 36 is thus rotatable in idler fashion.

The rotary gauge 36 is shown as provided with a cylindrical surface M which is arranged to engage the side surface of the shoe upper 46 directly adjacent to the margin 48 thereof. This cylindrical surface 44 may be made very narrow, in order that the place of contact between the rotary gauge and the shoe may be as close as possible to the bottom of the shoe. Directly below the cylindrical portion 44 the gauge 36 is shown as recessed or tapered inwardly to form a conical portion 55. The inwardly tapering sec tion 55 makes it possible for the cylindrical section 44 of the gauge to contact with the side of the' upper 43 directly adjacent to the margin 48 thereof regardless of the contour of the side of the upper at any portion thereof. The cylindrical section 44 of the gauge 36, therefore, need never be of vertical extent greater than necessary to make satisfactory contact with the side of the shoe upper 46.

The upper portion of the gauge 36 is recessed to provide a horizontal welt-supporting surface 52, and a vertical surface 54 which may be employed to cooperate with the outer surface or edge of the welt.

It will be observed in the construction illustrated (see Fig. 4) that the welt 5B is guided or held against any lateral movement, by the elevated welt guide or flange 24, and is further held against lateral movement outwardly of the shoe upper by the vertical surface 54 of the gauge 36, and that the welt is guided or held against vertical movement by the surfaces of the pressure roll 20 and by the horizontal surface 52 of the gauge 35. In this way the welt 56 is held in predetermined relation with respect to the shoe 45. To accommodate welting of other dimensions suitably dimensioned pressure rolls 2!] and gauges 35 may be substituted. This may require lateral adjustment of the gauge 36 for which provision is made. Thus, downwardly from the forward portion 34 of the bracket 32 is the yoke 58 (see Fig. 2) and cooperating therewith is the yoked adjusting screw 55 which extends into the boss 52. The bracket 32 may be adjusted laterally At the desired lateral position the bracket '32 may be fixed in place by tightening the screws 54 which extend through the slots 66.

Means is provided for guiding the welt from a suitable source such as a reel (not shown) to the pressure roll 20 and rotary guide 35. Thus, a bracket 68 is provided, one arm 10 of which is secured to the upper portion of the post 12 by screws 12, and the other arm 14 of which is secured as by brazing to a welt tunnel 16.

The specific form of welting 56 illustrated in the drawings is shown as having a longitudinal channel '18 in its upper or flesh side, as being of uniform dimension outwardly of the channel 18, and as tapering downwardly from the flesh side toward the lower or grain side inwardly of the channel 18. The lower or grain side 50 of the welt 56 is preferably roughed on the inner portion thereof and coated with an active pressure-sensitive adhesive. The margin 82 of the upper likewise ordinarily is coated with active pressure-sensitive adhesive prior to the welt-applying operation.

In the ordinary use of the machine, it is convenient to rotate the pressure roll 29 at a rate in the neighborhood of about 100 revolutions per minute, butthis rate may be increased as convenience may suggest.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a modification of the invention wherein the edge gauge and the pressure roll are both positively driven, and in synchronism. This machine differs from that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 particularly in the feature of construction of the pressure roll and edge gauge, and in the positive driving means therefor. Thus in Fig. 5, on the base 2 is mounted a motor 4. To the motor shaft 6 is keyed a worm 8, which drives the gear [0. The post I2 is also mounted on the base 2. Journalled in the upper and elongated portion I4 of the post I2 is the shaft I! which rotates in the bearings l8. At the rearward end of the shaft I1, the gear [0 is keyed to the shaft 51 at l I and additionally secured to theshaft by the screw l3. At its forward end, the shaft I7 carries a bevel gear 84 and a pressure roll 85. Both the gear 84 and the roll 85 are keyed to the shaft H at 86, and are additionally secured to the shaft by the screw 87.

The pressure roll 85 is generally similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 4, and has an inner portion 38 of uniform diameter, a circumferential flange or elevated welt guide 89, an outwardly flaring portion 90, and an outer portion 92 of uniform diameter, which may function as an extension of the inner portion 88 of the pressure roll.

As in Figs. 1 to 4, the gauge bracket 32 in Fig. 5 is slidably movable in the slot 30 to provide adjustability of the bracket ina direction parallel to the shaft l1 and pressure roll 85. The bracket 32 has a forward section 34 of reduced thickness and increased width which carries the positively driven rotary gauge 5|.

The gauge 5| is shown as mounted for rotation on a vertical stud 53 which is threaded at the screw portion 55 into the bracket section'34. A bushing 51 surrounds the stud 53. The gauge 5i, as illustrated, has a downwardly tapered bottom section 59, rubber-like lamination 6i, and a thin metal top lamination 63. The object of the rubber-like lamination BI is to provide a cylindrical surface 65 suitable for contacting the side of a shoe upper in non-slip fashion. A bevel gear 67, shaped to mesh with bevel gear 84, is mounted on lamination 63, and the gauge sections and the gear 61 are held together by screws 59.

In the operation of the machine for the aps ream plication of a welt to. the marginal portion of. the shoe bottom, the operator presents the lasted shoe upper to the machine (see Fig. 4) with that edge of the sl'ioe'which is adjacent to the shoe bottom in juxtaposed relation to the cylindrical surface 44 of theIedgeguide 36. The portion of the ed e of the shoe first presented to the machine is ordinarily where one end of the welt is to be located, which is commonly opposite the breast line of the heel. When the operator is ready to start the application of the. welt to the shoe, he presses the lasted shoe upper 45 upwar'dly'ag'ainst the pressurev roll 20. This begins" the feeding "of the welt 56 and the rotation of the shoe. The operator holds the shoe in hand, turns it around the toe andbrings it. to the point wherethe. welt is 'to and At this point the operator releases his pressure against the pressure roll 2 I, and cuts oif the welt. It will be understood that the feeding of the welt, and the application thereof to the shoe, takes place only so long as the operator presses the shoe upwardly against the pressure roll 20. As previously indicated, at the time the welt applying operation takes place the cooperative surfaces of the marginal portion of the shoe bottom and of the welt are coated with pressure sensitive adhesive in active condition, so that when the parts come into contact they adhere immediately.

Various modifications of the machine may of course be made while still coming within the scope of my invention. Thus it has been pointed out that the pressure roll 20 has an elevated welt guide or flange 24 which cooperates with a chan nel in the welt to prevent lateral movement of the Welt. Broadly speaking the pressure roll 20 and the welt have cooperative surfaces which prevent lateral movement of the welt. It will be understood of course that these cooperative surfaces might comprise a groove in the pressure wheel 20 and an elevated strip in the welt. Generally speaking, the pressure r011 20 and the welt may have any suitable shape for their cooperating surfaces. Other mechanical expedients and equivalents will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Furthermore in certain cases the cooperative raised and depressed portions on the pressure roll 20 and welt might be omitted and guide member 36 relied upon to prevent lateral movement of the welt.

The guide 36 is shown as freely rotating in the specific embodiment illustrated herein, but in certain cases this guide may be stationary rather than rotary and the invention is intended to cover this expedient. Generally speaking, however, the rotary guide is preferred because of its lessened friction on the sides of the shoe.

It will be seen from the above that I have provided a machine of simple and sturdy construction by means of which a welt readily may be applied to the marginal portion of the bottom of a flat lasted or slip-lasted upper, and at a speed which is limited only by the capacity of the operator.

It will further be noted that the machine involves a substantial factor of safety in so far as the safety of the operator is concerned as well as the spoilage of material. This will be readily apparent when it is considered that the operator need merely release his pressure against the pressure roll 20 to stop the feeding of the welt and the movement of the shoe.

It should further be noted that while the pressure roll 20 has been shown with its axis in horizontal position and the rotary guide has been shown. as disposed. vei tioally. there. beneath it will: he. understood that these. parts maybe arranged-many desired position so long asthe relative. posit on. of; thesepa ts s mamtei dut the axis of theplessure roll mightbe in aposition other-than orizontaland the, rotary, guide mi ht e. above the. pressure roll r her than el w r at ans n rm e ps t oo y urse be understood that my mama be. agit tor disposed yfast n it o. ttend t he us al; time r t a table o as etting t 0 at re ar s to he e i height so. ti pe atorm ine as be made in h w thw de a t n rom the i v io Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patents of the United States is:

1. A machine for the application of welting to a shoe bottom comprising in combination a positively driven pressure roll rotating on a horizontal axis, a guide member rotatable on a vertical axis, said guide member being shaped at its upper portion to cooperate with said pressure roll to receive and support the outer portion of a welt, said pressure roll extending over the entire width of the welt, said pressure roll having a circular flange or elevated welt guide arranged to cooperate with a corresponding channel in the welt to prevent lateral movement of said welt and a welt tunnel to uide the Welt to the cooperating pressure roll and rotary guide member.

2. A machine for the application of a welt to a shoe bottom comprising, in combination, a positively driven pressure roll rotatable on its own axis, said pressure roll being shaped to extend laterally over a welt and over the marginal portion of a lasted shoe bottom, said pressure roll being shaped peripherally to cooperate with a correspondingly shaped Welt to preclude lateral movement of said welt, guiding means arranged to cooperate with the side of the shoe adjacent to the shoe bottom in a position close to but not in direct contact with said pressure roll whereby when the side of a lasted shoe is pressed against said pressure roll the welt is progressively applied to the marginal portion of the shoe bottom.

3. A machine for the application of a welt to a shoe bottom comprising, in combination, a driven pressure roll rotatable on its own axis, said roll being shaped to extend over and to cooperate with a welt and the marginal portion of a shoe bottom, guiding means rotatable on an axis perpendicular to that of the pressure roll. said guiding means being disposed closely to the pressure roll so as to support a welt adjacent to but not in contact with said pressure roll, said guiding means being shaped laterally to guide a shoe, said parts being so shaped that when the edge of a shoe adjacent to the shoe bottom is presented to said guiding means and pressure roll the lateral inner portion of the welt extends over the marginal portion of the shoe bottom for progressive application thereto.

4. A machine for the application of a welt to a shoe bottom comprising, in combination, a positively driven pressure roll rotatable on its own axis and arranged to cooperate with a welt over the entire lateral surface thereof; a guide member disposed in fixed relation to said pressure roll and shaped to support the outer lateral portion of a welt, to preclude outward movement of the welt, and to cooperate with the side of a lasted shoe; said pressure roll projecting inwardly beyond the guide'member to permit a lasted shoe bottom to be pressed against the inwardly projecting portion of the pressure roll and the interposed inner lateral portion of a welt.

5. A machine for the application of a welt to a shoe bottom comprising, in combination, a positively driven pressure roll rotatable on a horizontal axis and arranged to cooperate with a welt over the entire lateral surface thereof; a guide member rotatable on a vertical axis in fixed relation to said. pressure roll, said guide member being shaped to prevent outward lateral movement of said welt and having a vertical guide surface arranged to cooperate with the side of a lasted shoe; said pressure roll and guide member being cooperatively shaped to support loosely 8 therebetween the outer lateral portion of a welt, said pressure roll projecting inwardly beyond said vertical guide surface to permit a lasted shoe bottom to be pressed upwardly against the inwardly projecting portion of the pressure roll and the interposed inner lateral portion of a welt.

WALTER P. FIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

